Agenda item

The report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services is attached.

The Leader and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Strategic and Borough-wide Leadership, Councillor Clarke presented the report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services providing a review of the work undertaken by the Council’s four Scrutiny Groups during 2023/24.

The Leader informed Council that he had great pleasure in presenting the annual scrutiny reports for approval and referred to the importance of scrutiny in helping to develop policy, address the concerns of residents, and provide the appropriate checks and balances. After Councillor Brennan had been given the opportunity to second the report, he asked that each of the scrutiny chairs be invited to deliver a brief summary of the year.

Councillor Brennan seconded the recommendation and reserved the right to speak.

Councillor Combellack, Chair of the Corporate Overview Group for 2023/24, reported on a very productive year in which improvements had been made to the scrutiny process, including a simplified scrutiny request form and the opportunity to present those requests to the Corporate Overview Group in person. Councillor Combellack was keen to point out that not all requests to scrutiny were forwarded to a scrutiny group for discussion, some were addressed directly by officers, by other Council groups, or referred to Cabinet. Councillor Combellack urged Councillors to continue highlighting topics for potential scrutiny and asked them to engage with officers in the first instance to ensure requests coming forward were well formulated, within the Council’s remit and represented good value for money.

Councillor Edyvean, Chair of the Governance Scrutiny Group, thanked members of the group for their attendance and respectful debate, and his Vice-chair for her support during the year. Councillor Edyvean explained that the Governance Scrutiny Group differed from the other scrutiny groups as it was primarily backward looking, focusing on financial performance and assurance. The Group had also looked at the Constitution, and given the number and complexity of changes, especially in relation to planning matters, a Member Working Group had been established to consider them. Councillor Edyvean stated that Rushcliffe was very lucky to have such skilled officers and encouraged all Councillors to attend the annual Treasury Management Training.

Councillor Williams, Chair of the Communities Scrutiny Group, referred to the wide range and interesting subjects the Group had considered, including Social Housing Models, Smoke Control Areas, Streetwise, East Midlands Airport, and the Council’s Carbon Management Plan. Councillor Williams thanked the members of his Group, those that had substituted when needed, and his Vice-chair.

Councillors Matthews, Chair of the Growth and Development Scrutiny Group, had noted the willingness and productiveness of Councillors and officers to work together to scrutinise a range of topics, when he had taken over the position of Chair part-way through the year. He thanked all participants for their enthusiasm and contributions to the meetings and also his Vice-chair and his predecessor Councillor R Walker.

Councillor Gowland, the Vice-chair of Governance Scrutiny Group, informed Council that despite the complex reports being considered by the Group, the presentations and explanations by both officers and external speakers had been excellent.

Councillor Plant, Vice-chair of Communities Scrutiny Group, reflected on the importance of ensuring that appropriate external speakers and officers attended meetings and that all Group members had a clear understanding of what scrutiny was expected to achieve. She raised concerns that the decisions made by the Group did not appear to impact upon policy or improve the quality of life for residents and suggested that six years after it was introduced, it could be time to review the Council’s scrutiny processes.

Councillor Thomas spoke on behalf of Councillor Way, Vice-chair of Growth and Development Scrutiny Group, and expressed concerns regarding the content of the annual report and that some of the issues raised by the Group in relation to the management of open spaces on new housing estates had been ignored. She felt that scrutiny in general had improved and evolved but there was still work to be done. The LGA Peer Challenge earlier this year had suggested a scrutiny review and a scrutiny request had been submitted by Councillor Way to achieve this, but it had been resisted and alternatives such as a workshop and training proposed instead. Councillor Thomas suggested that any training should be provided externally, with both officers and Councillors attending to look at change and to encourage more collaborative ways of working.

Councillor R Mallender supported the views of Councillor Thomas and suggested that it was time to review scrutiny to ensure improvements continued to be made, and that it would be good practice to look at what others were doing and incorporate best practice to continue to improve.

The Leader thanked the scrutiny chairs for their comments and responded briefly to the comments made by Councillor Thomas. He reported that there had been external training for scrutiny members in the past and that this was on the programme again, with a continual cycle of development and improvement within scrutiny led by Councillor Combellack. The Leader stated that he was sure that Councillor Combellack remained open to any suggestions regarding the future of scrutiny but highlighted that those needed to deliver positive change within the resources available to the Council. With regard to the management of open spaces, the Leader reassured Councillor Thomas that this remained a live topic and that, as well as working on a number of different areas locally, he was also lobbying Central Government to improve the situation nationally.

It was RESOLVED that the work undertaken by the four Scrutiny Groups during 2023/24 be endorsed.